Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

Athena asks about costuming events, and we ask you, the readers, if you'd like an event calendar on the site in the new year.

Grace, winner of this year's SPP, responds to a request for more information on how she created the beautiful decoration on her gown.

Last month I showed you how to draft the front, back and side back of the Seaside Jacket. This month, I show you how to true up the pattern, fit the jacket, draft the sleeves and construct the jacket.

I'll also share some key lessons I learned in this whole process, including a classic mistake.

Archive.org is an open digital library, without the international restrictions of Google Books. This month, we share with you a few of the great historical texts on a variety of subjects that we've found.

From 1820's fashion magazines to 1900's pattern drafting texts, to shoe making manuals and hairstyling guides, we've got a lot to keep you busy over the holiday season!

Analyzing, in exhaustive detail, the construction of a lingerie dress from about 1904.

Lingerie dresses and tailor-mades embody the dichotomies of the Belle Époque period. On one side, the lingerie dress is the essence of frilly ultra-femininity; contrast with it the equally popular severely tailored suit for the active, emancipated woman.

In this article, we dive into the finer points of a beautiful surviving piece of pure frou-frou.

I hear, frequently, “My husband wants me to make him a tailored 1880's coat, uhm... perhaps one day!” or simply “Tailoring is hard, why try?” This seems to be the natural response for people when they hear the word “tailoring”.

So begins our fascinating new series on historical tailoring, starting with the complete basics and working through to advanced techniques to construct a late Victorian lounge (informal) jacket. As well as allowing you to stop avoiding your husband's requests for something for him to wear, the dressmaker can learn an enormous amount from the genteel rules and precise approach of the historical tailor, giving her a great deal of tips and techniques to take back into ladieswear!